Re: What does "watch hacking" mean?

it's the ability to stop the seconds hand in order to sync the watch with a reference (atomic clock)
IMHO it's useless as an automatic gain a few seconds each day, usaually I set mine at time minus one minute and I reset it when it reach plus one minute

Re: What does "watch hacking" mean?

Originally Posted by LTH

it's the ability to stop the seconds hand in order to sync the watch with a reference (atomic clock)
IMHO it's useless as an automatic gain a few seconds each day, usaually I set mine at time minus one minute and I reset it when it reach plus one minute

and if I need the exact time I look at my GSM celular phone

Thanks, I get it now. When you pull out the crown some watches can't stop the second hand and it keeps moving, right?

So I was right, it's a another way of saying "calibration"?

I never owned a watch that you weren't able to stop the second hand when you pull out the crown to set the hour and minute hands.

I thought all watches were able to stop completely when you pull out the crown. I mean it would only make good sense because you are trying to set it.

Last edited by G-Shocks Are Cool.; May 20th, 2007 at 19:25.

The MTG is retired and the 5600 too. Right now, the only working G-Shocks that I use and enjoy are the Riseman GW9200-1 and the GW6900-1

If I can own a Rolex Submariner I would. I know they are tough too, their homages are tough. Trust me.

Re: What does "watch hacking" mean?

Hi -

Gotta be careful with the wording: calibration is comparing something to a standard, while hacking (in this context) means that the time-keeping character of a watch is stopped in order to synchronize it.

Calibrating a watch is more than synchronizing it: it means that it will keep the same kind of time as the source clock, i.e. will maintain the same accuracy, more or less, between the two watches. High-quality aviation watches were like this before the advent of computer-controlled aviation: if you were trying to synchronize 1000 planes on top of a target which included a 6 hour flight just to get there, you want all the watches worn by the lead pilots to show the same time-keeping characteristics, so that when everyone is supposed to be over the target, no one is more than a few seconds off. This was, back when, a LOT easier said than done, and simply synchronizing watches wasn't enough: you had to calibrate them.

I know this is fairly pedantic in this day and age, but the difference is subtle, but important...

Re: What does "watch hacking" mean?

Originally Posted by JohnF

Hi -

Gotta be careful with the wording: calibration is comparing something to a standard, while hacking (in this context) means that the time-keeping character of a watch is stopped in order to synchronize it.

Calibrating a watch is more than synchronizing it: it means that it will keep the same kind of time as the source clock, i.e. will maintain the same accuracy, more or less, between the two watches. High-quality aviation watches were like this before the advent of computer-controlled aviation: if you were trying to synchronize 1000 planes on top of a target which included a 6 hour flight just to get there, you want all the watches worn by the lead pilots to show the same time-keeping characteristics, so that when everyone is supposed to be over the target, no one is more than a few seconds off. This was, back when, a LOT easier said than done, and simply synchronizing watches wasn't enough: you had to calibrate them.

I know this is fairly pedantic in this day and age, but the difference is subtle, but important...

JohnF

Thanks, I learned alot.

The MTG is retired and the 5600 too. Right now, the only working G-Shocks that I use and enjoy are the Riseman GW9200-1 and the GW6900-1

If I can own a Rolex Submariner I would. I know they are tough too, their homages are tough. Trust me.